1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wager gaming machines for playing games of chance. More specifically, it relates to reducing electrical power consumption by gaming machines and gaming machine components and peripherals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gaming is an increasingly popular industry, with casinos and other gaming establishments continually seeking new and exciting ways to present games of chance for play. Many wagering games are typically presented on large, free-standing or stand-alone gaming devices, such as electronic slot machines, video poker machines and the like.
Energy consumption at casinos and gaming establishments has been increasing for many years. As the number of electronic gaming machines has grown, the more power casinos and gaming establishments consume and as energy costs have been rising, this has greatly increased the cost of operating the current generation of gaming machines. For example, if the total power consumption of an average gaming machine (including the top box and various lights) is about 400 watts, it costs a casino around $280 per year to run the machine. For a casino with 3,000 gaming machines, the power costs could easily top $800,000 per year, not taking into account the increased cost of air conditioning necessary to offset the heat generated by the machines. Reducing the power consumption by 35%-40% could easily save a large gaming operation over $300,000 a year at current rates.
One of the time-honored marketing and image-creating strategies of the gaming industry is that the vast majority of gaming machines in a casino are essentially always on. The flashing lights, sounds, and continual operating state of nearly all of a gaming machine's components and peripherals, such printers, card readers, bill validators, hoppers, and so on, all require power and are, in fact, powered at all times. There are a number of reasons for this mode of operation at gaming establishments. One is that gaming operators, as entities in many other businesses, are always seeking to attract potential users to their products and services. In casinos these potential users are often people who are passing by the gaming machines and whose attentions are often drawn to, for example, a video poker machine because of lights and sounds (sometimes referred to as “attract sequences”) which, the gaming industry has long-believed must always be on. It has been assumed that certain components and peripherals must also always be powered given that potential wager gaming machine users are thought of as having little patience to wait for components to power up, such as longer than one or two seconds. Thus, for these and various other reasons, gaming machines are often on “24/7” and are typically brought down only for maintenance or repair.
Other tangential and incidental energy drains from the constant operation of thousands of gaming machines at many gaming establishments include the increased need for climate control, such as air conditioning and ventilation, to compensate for the heat released from the gaming machines. Generally, the gaming industry believes—and data from electrical utility companies confirm—that significant financial savings can be realized from more intelligent use of power in gaming machines. Moreover, intelligent and more refined use of power will conserve our natural resources.
In spite of these benefits, the gaming industry has been slow to adapt power reduction measures in gaming machines. It is reluctant to alter its conventional marketing methods or change its image. A nearly immutable element of the gaming business in the U.S. and around the world is that it is flashy and attention grabbing. This is what the vast majority of gamers have come to expect and, therefore, is not likely to change radically anytime in the near future. Although there have been some incremental changes over the years, none have significantly affected the power consumption of wager gaming machines. For example, sound emitted from some machines can be adjusted by a gaming operator or by a player by using a slider mechanism to control volume. However, even this small concession by the gaming operators was motivated by a need to reduce noise irritation rather than power consumption. Of course, gaming operators can manually turn off individual gaming machines, machine components and peripherals, or an entire bank of gaming machines. However, the powering down of machines is not done automatically or, more importantly, intelligently for the purpose of saving energy while concurrently not affecting the ability to attract potential gamers or falling short of expectations from playing wagering games on the modern gaming machine.